Rebekah McGee is an Adoption Social Work Consultant in New York City. She works with several other contract social workers in the Manhattan Area as part of Adoptions From The Heart’s (AFTH) efforts to service the city. Being a social worker is just one of many titles Rebekah wears.
In addition to her work, she is a wife, mother, and homeschool teacher. All of these responsibilities combined often lead to an irregular schedule. As much as possible, Rebekah begins her day researching locations for outreach. After mapping out her planned stops, Rebekah takes the subway into the city. Rarely does she ever spend her day in one place. She travels all over the city, going from one appointment to the next. In one week alone, Rebekah hustled to meet families in the Financial District, Long Island City, and Union Square! She spent nearly six hours traveling on the subway.
Heading to her next destination on the subway.
The convenient layout of New York City makes her work that much easier. Rebekah can stop by several outreach sites within walking distance of each other throughout the day. The NYC consultant spends time contacting people regularly throughout the day between visits.
Much of the nature of Rebekah’s work has changed, given the impact of COVID. Outreach has become more challenging. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have more significant restrictions on visitation. Before the pandemic, her meetings with clients could take place nearly anywhere. She met with them at libraries, coffee shops, parks, etc. Now with heavy restrictions in place, she sometimes meets with expectant parents in her car. Home study visits are also conducted differently. (A home study is an assessment of prospective adoptive parents to see if they are suitable for adopting a child.) Typically, she will hold virtual meetings with prospective adoptive parents via ZOOM. Once everything moves forward, she will then visit the home. A true multitasker, Rebekah finds ways to work while homeschooling. Sometimes even completing a virtual home study while her children play at the park.
Rebekah works on home study paperwork at the park.
One of the aspects of New York, Rebekah feels is unique is the city’s diversity. The prospective parents she works with often require less preparation for transracial adoption. The city’s community is heavily multiethnic, with most of the parents having a diverse network among friends, at work, and in their relationships and community. New York’s size also provides a significant number of resources for support.
After graduating from college, Rebekah began her career as a geriatric social worker. Rebekah’s decision to become an adoption social worker was inspired by her adoption journey when she and her husband adopted their son. She subsequently went back to school and earned her master’s degree in social work. Working in adoption is her dream job right now. Her career allows her to work part-time in the field she loves and be present for her children. Rebekah’s first-hand experience as an adoptive parent helps her interactions with prospective adoptive parents. She can combine her professional and personal experience to better prepare them for what to expect during the adoption process.
There is plenty of effort that goes into social work, unbeknownst to those outside of the field. Social workers, like Rebekah, do a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes to get prospective families ready to parent. The field is vital because of the importance of legal and ethical adoptions. Social workers have the responsibility of assisting birth parents with placing their children in the best environments possible.
Check out this article to learn more about the field of social work: Reflecting on the Field of Social Work During COVID
